Colorado sports. Analysis. Commentary. Media. Humor. Links

Monthly Archives: November 2013

Welcome to the 36th edition of Tuesdays With Mitch, where if you’re lucky you have the next five days off work. If not, hopefully you have the next four. If not, hopefully you have Thursday off. I’m feeling festive. Big post, so get to readin.

Before I proceed to the customary sportswriter Thanksgiving column, I have some thoughts on that football game that was played on Sunday night.

Tom Brady beat the Broncos again. AP photo

That was really something, huh?

In the lead-up to the game, I made a few jokes about how much hype and promotion there was surrounding this game. (“I know NBC and the NFL are struggling trying to promote this one, but the Broncos play the Patriots on Sunday Night.”) All that hype was met and exceeded. During that gut-wrenching final quarter and overtime, I couldn’t help but think how rare it is for a regular season game that is pumped up that much to actually meet the vast expectations cast upon it.

This one sure did.

The huge fan bases of the Broncos and Patriots were obviously going to be locked in, but as the Patriots began that epic comeback you could feel the whole nation turning their attention to this one.

And after all the clutch defensive plays, the ballsy quarterback play, the wind, the coaching decisions, the intense crowd and so many intriguing story lines, the deciding play was a punt bouncing into some reserve defensive back’s leg. For that particular game to end like that was a damn shame.

Either way it was fascinating theater and a whole lot of fun for football fans.

You know what happened. 24-0. Then 34-31.

So what does the meltdown/comeback say about the Broncos? I think it says a few things. They are pretty darn good and so are the Patriots. It’s really not very easy to beat the Broncos, but they are beatable.

I feel pretty comfortable saying the Denver Broncos are still the best team in the NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE! They have plenty of flaws and I no longer feel like they are head and shoulders above the rest of the NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE! But I still think they’re better than every other team out there. Including the Patriots.

If those two teams played each other on a neutral field, some games in good weather, some in “The Elements” I think the Broncos would win six or seven or even eight times out of ten.

One sentiment floating around is the “If it wasn’t for those Patriots fumbles the Broncos would have gotten killed” argument. Yes, the Patriots gifted the Broncos with three fumbles on their first three drives, but then the Broncos turned the ball over four times. Fumbles always have a flukey feel to them. That goes both ways.

There’s one group out there that knows more about what is going to happen on football fields than me or you or anyone on ESPN or even the people in the locker rooms. One group will refuse to overreact the way your talk radio hosts and many Broncos fans will.

Vegas. Vegas knows more than everybody.

According to Bovada, the Broncos (7-2 odds) have fallen slightly behind the Seahawks (3-1 odds) as the Super Bowl favorites. The Broncos are still favored to win the AFC at 5-4 odds, which math tells me is almost 1-1. The next closest team is the Patriots, who are 5-2. That means Vegasstill thinks the Broncos are twice as likely to go to the Super Bowl as the chowdaheads from the northeast.

Now, of course, the Broncos were favored to go to and win the Super Bowl last year and we all know how that ended up.

Still, the Broncos are just fine. Choking away a 24-0 lead is a bad look for the offense, defense and special teams. They collapsed. It was unbecoming.

Every team in the NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE has flaws. Lots of flaws.

Peyton Manning was cold. AP Photo / Elise Amandola

Peyton Manning and those three receivers are allowed to have a bad week. Maybe it’s because Manning sucks in cold weather. Or maybe it’s because sometimes good offenses simply have a bad week. And if you’re scoring 31 points during a bad week, you’re probably pretty good. I don’t care if 17 of those points came off of turnovers.

Von Miller looks like he’s starting to round into form as the best defensive player in the game again. Knowshon Moreno is reliable. I still insist Champ Bailey will have a positive impact upon his return. So will Julius Thomas. The sky is not falling. Good teams lose games on the road to other good teams.

Playing these types of games will benefit the Broncos come January. Losses like this will benefit the Broncos come January. They should finish the year 14-2. That will get them the 1-seed in the AFC.

And they’ll be Super Bowl favorites again.

Like I’ve said all year long, the Broncos’ real season starts in the playoffs. They have 20 preseason games. Epic contests like last night make for some great debate on television and radio. They make for memorable evenings.

It’s an unpopular belief because people love to analyze football, but for this Broncos team, Sunday night’s loss really didn’t matter much.

And since it’s Thanksgivingweek, I find it a good time to reflect on some sports things and some non sports things that I am thankful for:

The Broncos. Teams that are favored for pretty much every game have been few and far between ’round these parts the past few years. I’m truly thankful that John Elway and company have put together the model franchise in the NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE! yet again. Ideally, I’d be more thankful if they don’t rip my heart out in January. But still.

Being in attendance for this moment:

(You know I have to squeeze some Helton in here whenever I can).

Jack Graham. He’s not screwing around. If I set my objectivity aside and embrace my Colorado State fanhood, I am very happy an AD is in place who has his mind set on success and vast improvement in all facets of the athletic department.

Mom’s yams midway through preparation. You can see the pecans in the background and oh dear Lord. (Yes I like them so much that I have a picture of them stored on my computer).

My mother’s sweet potatoes. About seven or so years ago my mom tried a new recipe for sweet potatoes that changed my life forever. She puts pecans and brown sugar and probably some other stuff on them and oh dear Lord. I only get them twice a year and oh dear Lord.

High Definition televisions. The technology has changed the sports world more than anything the past 10 years. For the better. For the much, much, much better.

The “mute” button. I don’t understand why or how you all listen to commercials. I’m a professional muter. I would put my muting skills up against anyone in the world. If you can’t improve upon silence, shut up.

Coors Field. It can be almost ruined by the drunk 21-year-olds trying to start the wave and the Rockies’ perennial ineptitude, but let’s be honest, Coors Field is a great, great place to spend an afternoon or evening.

Coors Field is pretty great.

Chipotle Fridays. I’ve gone to Chipotle every Friday for about seven and a half years. It’s the only way to start the weekend. I wish it was Chipotle Friday right now. (I also enjoy hot wings, cereal, sunflower seeds, the Cambridge Skillet at the Egg & I, New York Strips, honeycrisp apples and stringcheeses.)

The drive-through liquor store that is a block away from my house. I can go buy 30 cans of Pabst Blue Ribbon for about 20 dollars without putting on a shirt or shoes.

Christopher Columbus. We all know that Christopher Columbus was the pilgrim that taught the Indians how to eat turkey and grow corn. If it wasn’t for him and those kind Indians he befriended none of us would get to stuff our faces and drink enough to tolerate our weird relatives all Thursday long. That’s how it happened right?

All of my loyal readers. I wouldn’t be making millions off of this blog if it wasn’t for the hundreds of thousands of devoted followers that read and share my posts every Tuesday afternoon.

Moving on…

Stud of the week: Tom Hilbert. I’m going a little off the board this week. The Colorado State volleyball coach saw his team win two road matches last week and is now ranked 9th in the nation. They clinched their fifth consecutive Mountain West title and have established a legitimate dynasty. I know not many people care about women’s volleyball, but CSU’s volleyball program is probably the best college sports program in the state. And the main reason for all that success is their stud coach. Tom Hilbert: Stud.

Douche of the week: Alex Rodriguez. Again. I’ve already outlined his douchey history. He added to that this week when he “stormed” out of the MLB hearing regarding his suspension because he was so “upset.” He immediately released a statement and made a “surprise” radio interview. In typical A-Roid fashion, the whole thing was a complete joke. Completely scripted and poorly executed. Who are the people coming up with these bizarre ideas? Anyway, I’m very glad all this happened because it produced this incredible YouTube video.

(Background here: Mike Francesa has a huge, New York based radio show and the volatile host kind of fell asleep during an interview a couple years back. Put that together with Rodriguez’s odd performance and you have video gold.)

Colorado State will beat Air Force for the first time since 2005 (How crazy is that?) at noon on Saturday. With the win, the Rams will earn their first trip to a bowl game since 2008 and make my season-preview prediction off by only one game. The Rams opened as 14.5 point favorites. Yeah, Air Force is really bad this year.

Broncos vs. Chiefs. Third must-watch in a row. Broncos open as 3.5 point favorites. They’ll cover.

The Maui Invitational is usually pretty sweet. It’s taking place all week long (mostly on the ESPN family of networks) and the teams are a combined 30-0 going into the tourney. Also read this great article on the history of the event here.

Auburn is ranked fourth in the nation. They host #1 Alabama at 1:30 on Saturday in one of the nation’s most intense rivalries. Should be awesome.

New Orleans plays Seattle on Monday night. Should be awesome.

OTHER STUFF

The Boston Celtics have a lot of new players and aren’t nearly as good as they’ve been in the past few years. Maybe that’s why I thought this GIF of Rajon Rondo reading the night’s statsheet was so damn funny.

via thenosebleeds.com

Who the hell are these guys?!

Kickers aren’t real people.

`

Ron Burgundy had a great appearance on Conan. This was the most funny part.

`

This article about the athletic and academic culture at Florida State in the wake of the Jameis Winston sexual assault allegations is generating a lot of conversation online. It’s well done and you’ll feel sorry for both the instructors and the privileged athletes. I think it’s worth your time.

If you have the opportunity, I really recommend watching the HBO Real Sports piece on Nuggets coach Brian Shaw. Set the DVR if you can. It’s a heartbreaking story that is really well done. You can watch a couple minutes of the segment here.

And finally, I’m 99 percent sure this is a set-up, but it’s still pretty darn cute.

`

***

Happy Tuesday everybody. Have a great Thanksgiving weekend; it’s a truly underrated holiday. Give thanks. And thank you for reading. See ya next week.

Comment on any of this stuff below, or email me at mdhahn1@yahoo.com with post ideas, videos or other media I should know about. Subscribe at the top right of this page. Follow me on Twitter @MitchDHahn.

Welcome to the 35th edition of Tuesdays With Mitch, where a couple more touchdowns were just scored in the Colorado State – New Mexico game. Huge post this week. Enjoy.

Kapri Bibbs is having the best season of any Colorado State running back ever and appears to be the best running back in the country. AP Photo

Kapri Bibbs is good. Colorado State beat New Mexico Saturday. If you hate defense, this one was for you. CSU won and will probably appear in a bowl game. Their defense looked bad. Their offense looked great. That’s all well and good, but the story of the Rams is all about the best running back in college football, Kapri Bibbs. Check out some of these numbers. (Hint: They are absurd).

His 25 touchdowns is five (5!) more than anyone else in the country.

He has Six games with three or more touchdowns.

In the last seven weeks (not a small sample size) he has averaged 175 yards rushing and over 3 touchdowns.

With two games to play, he is 163 rushing yards shy of Colorado State’s all-time single season record. (So expect that record to get broken in the first quarter on Saturday.)

He’s also breaking every other rushing record in Colorado State history. There’s really no point in listing them all.

The last two weeks he has touchdown runs of 28, 59, 1, 85, 11, 27, 1, 7, 26 and 18 yards. In two weeks!

All ten of his touchdowns from the past two weeks have come in the games final 39 minutes and nine of them have come in the second half.

SportsCenter summed up the last two weeks nicely:

Bibbs is just a sophomore so he’s still got two years of eligibility remaining after this one. He is a joy to watch. Tough enough to run between the tackles in short yardage situations and elusive and fast enough to break 85-yard touchdowns. I’ve never seen anything like what he’s done the last two weeks. New Mexico and Nevada are certainly not the stoutest of defenses, but they’re not FCS cupcakes either.

Kapri Bibbs is the best running back in the country, and I don’t really care if I sacrifice some objectivity when I suggest we get his official Heisman campaign off and running.

#BibbsforHei5man

Jack Dempsey/Associated Press

The Broncos beat the Chiefs. It wasn’t as close as I predicted, but it also wasn’t as close as the 27-17 final score indicated. The Game Of The Year was never much in doubt. The Broncos are a better team than the Chiefs. They were at home. They beat them soundly.

The Chiefs vaunted defense has one sack in the last three weeks, and I came away from watching them play the Broncos with a shoulder shrug. They didn’t give up a ton of points, but they weren’t particularly impressive or intimidating either.

The Broncos wanted to keep Peyton Manning from getting hit. They did just that. The offensive line played well, but a lot of it was Manning finding his receivers on quick, short passing routes and getting the ball out of his hands almost right away. I don’t think the Chiefs have the best defense in the league, but I think the Broncos can score plenty of points against whoever does.

There’s just too many playmakers on that offense.

The Broncos defense is underrated and coming along nicely. It helps to play the Chiefs, whose offense is just horrible. I mean, that offense sucks. The Chiefs will certainly make the playoffs, but it’s hard to imagine them making much noise when they’re there.

This was a big win for the Broncos in regards to hype and records and standings. But it wasn’t particularly dramatic.

And it really wasn’t much of a test.

This upcoming Sunday night and the following Sunday afternoon provide a much bigger tests, when the Broncos play the Patriots for the 25th year in a row, then travel to Arrowhead. The Broncos are opening as 2.5 point favorites in Foxborough and will probably be slightly favored in Arrowhead as well.

If they come out of this three-game stretch without dropping one, even I would be surprised.

The Auburn – Georgia game was just incredible. Auburn had a huge lead and was about to blow a big game, then this happened. (Yes, this is worth two videos and two GIFs. This is one of the most incredible plays I’ve ever seen.)

via @cjzero

Here’s the video with the Auburn announcers:

`

Here’s the video with the Georgia announcers:

`

OHHHMYYYGAAAWD was also the sentiment of several of the Georgia coaches:

via deadspin.com

That’s an all-time GIF right there.

Stud of the week: The San Francisco Bat Kid (and the city of San Francisco).

Non sports related, but this is such a cool story. I was never much of a super hero or comic book fan, even as a kid. But 5-year-old cancer patient Miles Scott is. The Make-A-Wish foundation’s request to turn him into Batman for a day went viral and the results will tug at your heart strings and restore your faith in humanity. The best and most comprehensive recap I found is right here. Check out these pictures of BatKid in action and an overhead shot of the crowd at the news conference in which he was awarded the key to the city. No 5-year-old should have to fight leukemia, but he’ll never forget that day. Awesome stuff.

via @sfwish

via @JasonBretWells and ABC 7 news.

Douche of the week: Erik Waldon. This is pretty self explanatory:

`

Ripping a dude’s helmet off then smashing your facemask into his unprotected grill? Super douchey. Also douchey is the ref that didn’t even eject this guy. And he was only suspended for one game, making Roger Godell a bit of a douche as well. So much is made of helmet-to-helmet contact, but we don’t hear as much about helmet-to-forehead contact. Lots of douche going around, but your douche of the week is Erik Waldon.

Tweet of the week:

The Nashville Predators are not having a very good season. This tweet from their official account has since been deleted and I can not find a legitimate screenshot of it anywhere. Still pretty hilarious though.

What to watch the next seven days:

In college hooops #11 Memphis plays #7 Oklahoma State tonight on ESPN. It’s only November, but I enjoy games like this one.

The college football game of the week is Baylor – Oklahoma State. This one has national title implications and should be a shootout. Saturday night at 6 on ABC.

Back to basketball, Harvard is getting some love as an Ivy League team that could make some national noise. They play CU in Boulder on Sunday afternoon on ESPNU.

I know NBC and the NFL are struggling trying to promote this one, but the Broncos play the Patriots on Sunday Night. I think both teams have, like, good quarterbacks or something?

Not the right cop to mess with. Just a great shot of some moron getting lit up during the Oklahoma – Iowa State game. This cop is a freaking monster.

This is a couple months old, but I just saw it and thought it was hilarious.

`

And finally, check out these ladies. This is what happens when a small school goes to the Final Four. A midnight tipoff will not deter these fans.

`

At the very, very end, you can see the reaction from anyone who has ever tried a Rockstar energy drink. UghhewwWhatTheHellIsThat?!

***

Happy Tuesday everybody. Thanks for reading. See ya next week.

Comment on any of this stuff below, or email me at mdhahn1@yahoo.com with post ideas, videos or other media I should know about. Subscribe at the top right of this page. Follow me on Twitter @MitchDHahn.

Welcome to the 34th edition of Tuesdays With Mitch. Lots to get to in this one. Get after it.

All season long, I’ve maintained that the Kansas City Chiefs are a fraudulent first place team. They’ve played a weak schedule, I’ve said. They’ve gotten lucky, I’ve said. They’ve played a lot of backup quarterbacks, I’ve said. They might be a pretty good team, but they’re not on the level of a team like the Broncos, I’ve said.

Then I took a closer look at what the Chiefs have done. And I’ve decided I’ve been absolutely right about all of this.

screenshot via espn.com

So they beat the Jaguars. Then three NFC East teams. Not particularly impressive, but hey, 4-0 is a very nice start for anybody.

Then check out this gauntlet of elite quarterbacks the vaunted Chiefs defense has somehow been able to shutdown.

That horrifying, all-time great Kansas City defense played four backup quarterbacks and Terrell Pryor in five consecutive weeks. Fitzpatrick was making his first start of the season. So was Keenum. So was Campbell. Tuel was making his second start, but his first in a month.

Keenum was actually making the first start of his career. Tuel was making his second start ever.

Kansas City might have a good defense; I don’t really know. It kind of looks like they have a very average defense that has played a bunch of crap offenses trying out new quarterbacks.

Offensively the Chiefs are definitely average. Alex Smith has thrown nine touchdowns and four interceptions in nine weeks. (On a somewhat related note, Peyton Manning threw seven touchdowns in the first week alone.) Jamaal Charles is a nice player. There’s no way he’s a workhorse that powers the best team in football. He’s run for over 100 yards once on the year. He averages about 80 per game.

The Broncos are favored in this game by about eight points, which is a big number for a game in which both teams have such good records.

I think it’s going to be a party. The Chiefs are overmatched on both sides of the ball. The Broncos blow them out and make a statement.

Look for Peyton to kick up those much-talked-about ankles in the fourth quarter with a visor accenting that magnificent forehead.

Tulowitzki to the Cardinals? That would be an unbelievably difficult trade for Rockies fans to handle. I don’t think it gets done. But then again, I didn’t think the Ubaldo Jimenez trade would get done either. If they do trade Tulo, I sure hope they get some really bright impact prospects. Guys like Drew Pomeranz and Alex White (who they could trade for a guy like Wilton Lopez) and that other guy.

Richie Incognito is a really bad guy. Just a bad person. The locker room culture in the NFL is completely misguided and needs to change. Jonathon Martin could have handled the situation better, but he really didn’t do anything wrong. Boom. See how easy that was? Now we can all move on.

What to watch the next seven days:

College basketball on ESPN arrives in a big way tonight. #1 Kentucky plays #2 Michigan State. And #4 Duke plays #5 Kansas. Can’t ask for much more than that.

There’s an NFL game on Sunday night.

Washington – UCLA could be a rare Friday night college football game that’s worth watching.

San Diego State basketball hosts Arizona Thursday night on CBS Sports if you’re into intriguing inter-conference matchups out west.

And at this point you should probably be watching the Avalanche whenever you get the chance. They’re 14-2.

Radio host Damon Bruce has been suspended after his strange rant about women in sports. (Hint: He doesn’t seem to like them very much.) It’s unbelievable to me that people are dumb enough to ruin their careers by going off about stupid things. You are a professional talker. You should know you can’t say certain things. Damon Bruce: Douche.

I missed this last week. Jesse Carr, who came to the Colorado State basketball program in 2008, was set to rejoin the Rams and play through 2014. That career would have spanned six seasons. Carr reinjured his ACL and is justifiably calling it a career. It’s a crushing story for a good kid and a good player who never got his senior season.

In other news, Colorado State is in a rebuilding year. They were blown out by Gonzaga in Spokane last night.

A couple normal college kids for ya:

via @corkgaines

It’s very important to watch the friends on each side of that dude. Just about killed me. Then there’s this guy in his own little T-Rex world.

This one’s been out for a while, but yesterday was Veteran’s Day, so it seems relevant.

`

It’s all about the boots in that one.

And finally, this is… something.

`

If you somehow made it all the way through that, I hope you enjoyed that final little move as much as I did.

***

Happy Tuesday everybody. Thanks for reading. See ya next week.

Comment on any of this stuff below, or email me at mdhahn1@yahoo.com with post ideas, videos or other media I should know about. Subscribe at the top right of this page. Follow me on Twitter @MitchDHahn.

Welcome to the 34th edition of Tuesdays With Mitch. If it’s snowing right now you should hunker down with your favorite blog. Ain’t nobody got time to be productive when it snows.

I guess I’ll start with Colorado State football again. Simply put, they couldn’t hang with Boise State. I thought they had a decent shot. I was wrong. After jumping out to a 10-0 lead, they were outscored 42-7 before scoring a couple late touchdowns to make the final score 42-30. CSU was completely outplayed by a much better team.

Rams fans keep waiting for that big win that makes a statement and starts to turn the program around. The Wyoming game was an example of that, but only to a certain extent. Wins like that need to be built upon. This could have turned out to be a big, big game for the future of the program. It wasn’t.

Colorado State is 4-5 with 4 games to go. They’ll be favored in 3 of them. They need to go 3-1 to finish 7-6 and go to the Calahan Auto Parts Inline Rotary Girder Bowl in Flint, Michigan.

It’s a little surprising that Patrick Roy and the Avs’ brass didn’t skip a beat and just kept right on playing Varlamov, but I can see where they’re coming from. And it has nothing to do with his performance or how well the Avs are playing. We don’t know what happened. There’s a chance Varlamov didn’t do a damn thing. If that’s the case it would be awfully unfair to suspend him or sit him down.

If he did beat this woman, that truth should come out later and the Avs can react then.

It’s really an impossible situation for the Avalanche. Either decision will be viewed as the wrong one.

And it’s a shame this black cloud has to hang over such an incredible start to the year.

This NFL bullying story is bizarre, but I only bring it up because this dude looks like the biggest meathead idiot ever.

via sportsgrid.com

Is anyone surprised this guy isn’t the brightest or kindest person in the world? This guy went to my high school. He went to your high school. He is currently attending every high school in the nation.

A thrilling start to the Nuggets’ home opener.

`

Rocky is okay. He passed out. This line from this Deadspin write-up cracked me up: “Because the harness was hidden, it looked like Rocky had been hanged and presented on the court as an omen for something. It was unsettling.”

This is one of the best front pages I’ve ever seen. Five simultaneous “safe” calls. Pretty awesome.

via the Boston Herald

This Tim McCarver sendoff is well done:

`

McCarver is a legend but at the end of his career most people were really ready for him to go away. I never had a problem with him and didn’t really understand most of the McCarver hate, which was rampant on Twitter and the blogosphere. He was a baseball man through and through and he knew the game better than anybody. Sometimes he could start stumbling around and babbling about strange crap, but more often than not I found him to be very in-tune with the game.

Pretty interesting promo:

`

Speaking of the NBA, if you haven’t seen the New Orleans Pelicans mascot yet, I recommend diverting your eyes now.

That’s Pierre. Pierre is a terrifying creature. For the record, I like the Pelicans rename a lot. Pelicans are badass. I do not like whatever is in that picture.

This GIF turned me into Homer Simpson:

via @guyism

`

This man is my hero. He just kills this. Pure gold.

`

Easily the best thing to come out of Halloween weekend. That weather report was just the best. Also, that video has over 2.6 million views since Halloween. That seriously might be the most publicity Colorado State football has gotten in years. And yeah, if you couldn’t tell, I’m a pretty big Anchorman fan.

Actually let’s be real, this is always the best thing to come out of Halloween weekend.

I freaking love this video. Not entirely sure what’s going on, but there appears to be some sort of skateboarding and/or bicycling event. Police appear to be determined to block off a certain area. They’re just not quite sure which one. And their method is not particularly effective. Add in some Yakety Sax and you have me laughing and crying all at once.

`

I never wanted it to end.

And finally, we’ve all been here:

`

Ugh!

***

Happy Tuesday everybody. Thanks for reading. See ya in November.

Comment on any of this stuff below, or email me at mdhahn1@yahoo.com with post ideas, videos or other media I should know about. Subscribe at the top right of this page. Follow me on Twitter @MitchDHahn.